Search Procedure: Overview

Beginning a Search: Authorization to RecruitThe formal phase of the recruitment process begins when the department/office receives
authorization to recruit.

Initiating the Search ProcessOnce a department has been authorized to recruit, the department chairperson or director
of hiring department may initiate the process through our on-line recruitment system
system, PeopleAdmin. For details, see website - http://www.fredonia.edu/humanresources/index.aspOne or more representatives of the search committee shall meet with the affirmative
action officer to discuss recruitment strategies early in the search process.

AdvertisingAll ads must contain the following statement: "An affirmative action/equal opportunity employer, SUNY Fredonia encourages and actively
seeks applications from minorities, women, and people with disabilities."

Receiving Applications All applications shall be acknowledged in writing by the search committee chair.

Candidates to be Interviewed Candidates are those applicants who are recommended by the search committee for campus
interview. When the search committee has narrowed the applicant pool and is ready
to invite candidates to campus, the department administrator shall initiate the routing
of the search folders containing applicant curriculum vitae/resumes via the on-line recruitment
system, PeopleAdmin to the appropriate dean, vice president and the affirmative action
officer. This list should identify characteristics of Tiers I, II and III candidates.

The vice president or dean shall consult with the affirmative action officer and respond
to the department administrator within at least 48 hours. As part of this consultation,
the affirmative action officer will determine if affirmative action policies and procedures
have been followed, and this determination is required in order to invite candidates
for an interview.

Offer of EmploymentBefore a verbal or written offer is made to the recommended candidate, the department
administrator or the chair of the search committee shall contact the vice president/dean
who shall consult with the affirmative action officer to verify that all affirmative
action procedures have been followed. The verbal offer cannot be made without the
approval of the vice president/dean. These approvals will be given within a 48 hour
period.

After the vice president/dean and department administrator agree to extend an offer
of appointment, the offer should be made promptly, usually by the department administrator.
The vice president/dean shall be consulted regarding any negotiations or contract
demands which could affect a candidate's decision to accept the verbal offer. Any
special conditions to be negotiated such as, salary, workload, work schedule, or resource
expectations should be clearly defined in writing and have the approval of the vice
president/dean.

Formal Appointment LetterThe official appointment is made in writing by the university president, or in cases
of continuing appointment by the Chancellor of the University. Appointment letters
are prepared for the president's signature in the Human Resources Office.

Notification of Applicants/CandidatesAfter the position has been filled, the department administrator or search committee
chair shall inform all remaining candidates promptly of the status of the search.

Reopening the SearchA decision to extend a search will only be made after consultation with the vice president/dean.

Exceptions to the Search Process

The Affirmative Action Committee affirms the general policy that, whenever possible,
full open affirmative action searches be conducted for all faculty and non-teaching
professional positions, including administrative and management/confidential positions.
Under this policy, search waivers will be considered exceptions and will be judged on the merits of each situation
according to these guidelines.

It is important to distinguish between those situations where it is advisable to waive
a full national search and those where even a local limited search would be waived.

A first necessary criteria to apply to a search waiver request is the principle of
"utilization of minorities and females." In areas and/or departments of the campus
where minorities and females are significantly under-utilized, search waiver requests
should be reviewed first in relation to this under-utilization.

When the position must be filled in less than 60 days from the beginning of the period
when the normal duties of the position would begin, a national search may be waived.
These situations would occur only when death, illness, disability, or a last-minute
resignation causes a position to be vacant. In the case of resignation, the resignation
must have been submitted and dated within the less-than-60-days period.

A local search should usually be conducted, even in emergency situations, in order
to insure that an attempt to meet affirmative action guidelines be made in every case.

There will always be an opportunity to fill positions on an "acting" or temporary
basis; however, in every case, "acting" or not, according to the affirmative action
guidelines of the documents mentioned above, an appropriate affirmative action search
during the year following the appointment must be conducted for every term appointment.

There should be opportunity to waive searches that might be non-productive; for instance,
in a case where the salary level of the position is so low that a national search
might not be likely to turn up qualified candidates. However, in all such cases, at
least a campus search and local area search should be conducted in an effort to reach
all possible minority and female candidates.

If affirmative action goals would be enhanced by a search waiver, especially if a
minority person or a female is already in the position, the request for a search waiver
should usually be granted, and the "under-utilization" principle should be a factor
in making the decision.

Where the person already occupying a position is not a minority member or female and
a search waiver request is made, then the waiver should be granted only in the "uniquely
qualified" phrase mentioned in the guideline documents apply. Such cases would probably
be rare, but it is necessary to provide some opportunity for the person who is not
a minority member or a female and who is hired in an emergency situation to have the
job protected if that person is doing the job exceptionally well. It should be reiterated,
however, that even in emergency situations, positions should be filled if at all possible
by searching for qualified minority and female candidates in order to eliminate to
the greatest extent possible search waiver requests when the position comes up for
more stable appointment.

Recognizing the desirability of maintaining opportunity for "promotion from within,"
one reason for a search waiver might be where there is chance for such a promotion
on this campus. In such cases, a full national search might well be waived and also
even a local beyond-the-campus search. However, we suggest that for every position
which becomes open on this campus where the possibility of promotion exists, the complete
staff on campus be searched for every possible candidate among minorities and women
who might be eligible and/or qualified for such promotion and that announcement of
the vacancy be made campus-wide. This should especially apply to short-range temporary
periods in administrative areas which would provide minority candidates and women
with opportunity for learning administrative skills.

When the situation is one of reorganization (a reassignment of duties and changing
responsibilities or when a new president wants a chance to put together a staff according
to his/her working style) the following should apply:

When the reorganization is simply reassigning duties to the same personnel and no
new positions are created, a search is not required.

Where a new position is created, an appropriate search is required.

For every request for a search waiver, a spokesperson may attend the meeting at which
the waiver is discussed in order to speak on behalf of the person for whom the waiver
is requested. Where possible, that spokesperson should be the person making the waiver
request-that is, the administrator involved.

Screening Applicants

The search committee should make every effort to include members of under represented
groups among the persons to be interviewed. Before identifying the group, however,
the committee should discuss and come to consensus about the standards for evaluating
the applications. Where affirmative action candidates are not included among the candidates
to be interviewed, the committee must be prepared to discuss, with the Affirmative
Action Officer and the hiring official, how the qualifications of the candidates selected
exceed those of affirmative action candidates.

In their evaluations, members of the committee should be sensitive to the following:

Biases against individuals from lesser known or Historically Black Institutions.

Biases against candidates who are not active participants in mainstream organizations
or networks.

Devaluing research and scholarship which focuses on non-white populations or concerns,
or which is published in journals considered outside of the "mainstream." Applicants
should not be evaluated primarily by where they have published, but on the quality
of their research including such dimensions as: methodological and/or quantitative
skills of analyses, the depth and scope of their research agenda, and their potential
for future activity.

Devaluing candidates with lukewarm letters of recommendation from professional or
graduate school references.

Devaluing candidates whose prior professional experience focused on working with special
populations.

In order to support a comprehensive search, committee members may wish to employ one
or more of the following strategies:

Ask the Affirmative Action Officer to review the applications of all affirmative action
candidates

Conduct telephone interviews with qualified affirmative candidates as a means of gathering
more information when determining whom should be invited for campus interviews.

Ask other members of the hiring unit to conduct "blind reviews" of the applicants, with names, gender and ethnicity concealed where possible.

Where questions persist about candidates' credentials, ask for additional references,
copies of research articles or other samples of work, etc. to assist in the evaluation.)

Resist eliminating qualified affirmative action candidates exclusively on the basis
of a paper review, i.e. without at least one "personal" contact, whether it be a telephone
call to a reference, a nominator or to the candidate.

Interviewing Applicants

The goals of the interviewing process should include selling the candidates on the
merits of the position as well as offering a thorough opportunity for evaluating candidates'
credentials. To make the most of the interviewing process, advance preparation on
the part of the committee should be utilized as much as possible. The following steps
are useful in preparing for interviews and conveying a sincere interest to the candidates:

Preparation

Be as thorough in attention to detail as possible when making arrangements for campus
visits.

Confirm arrangement for campus visits as far in advance as possible, and in writing.
The arrangements should include where the candidate will be picked up and by whom,
where she/he will be housed during the visit, and when they can expect the visit to
formally conclude. An itinerary for the day should be included or made available as
soon as the candidate arrives.

Be thoughtful in determining whom it will be that candidates meet; do not unnecessarily
extend the interview by including numerous "courtesy calls." Do include persons with
whom the candidate may interact, and do explain to the candidate the relevance of
each person on the interview schedule. Ask candidates if there are individuals with
whom they may like to meet, or if there are particular questions that may best be
answered by individuals outside of the interview process.

Prepare a list of questions that will be posed to all of the candidates.

Confirm appointments with persons on the interview schedule the day before each interview
to avoid no shows and, if necessary, to identify possible replacements.

Avoid large unscheduled gaps of time; although, schedule breaks during the day for
the candidate to breathe and reflect on the day.

In order to facilitate full participation it is useful to distribute a schedule, listing
all interviews, dates, and times, to affected individuals including the hiring official,
search committee, department staff and others on the interview schedule.

Conducting the Interviews

Encourage candidates to ask questions; answer them as candidly as possible.

Do not attempt to ignore a candidate's gender or ethnicity out of politeness; acknowledge
these characteristics. The search committee may elect to expose the candidate to other
members of the campus community with similar backgrounds and that the committee should
be prepared to respond to concerns or questions that are specifically related to the
candidate's ethnicity or gender.

Discuss the standards for promotion and tenure with all candidates. Be specific about
expectations concerning performance, research, teaching and service.

Inform candidates of the process and timeline for making a decision. Ask if there
are any mitigating circumstances, other offers, extended travel plans, etc. of which
the committee should be apprised. Offer the candidates the name and telephone number
of the committee Chair, in the event they may have further questions about the position.

Selecting Finalists

In the evaluation process, the most qualified candidate may not necessarily be the
individual with the most traditional publication record, academic or administrative
experience. The criteria for selection should also include the ability of a candidate
to enhance the quality and/or scope of services offered, to enlarge research and pedagogical
interest and to contribute to the life and cultural diversity of a department/campus.

The committee should identify at least two or three finalists, whom they will recommend
to the hiring official. They should identify, in writing, each candidate's relative
strengths and weaknesses, and indicate in which ways the candidate could contribute
to the unit. Therefore assessing a potential hire's contributions might include consideration
of one or more of the following:

Ability to enhance services to meet the needs of previously unserved or under served
populations.

Ability to diversify curriculum and pedagogy to meet multiple or different interest.

Ability to be a role model or mentor to majority as well as minority students.

Ability to extend the boundaries of current research by directing or supervising in
non-traditional areas.

Ability to attract targeted external funds.

Where an affirmative action candidate is not included among the finalists, the committee
should be prepared to discuss it's decision with the Affirmative Action Officer and
the hiring official.